different between allophones vs homograph

English

Noun

allophones

1. plural of allophone

English

Etymology

From homo- +? -graph.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?h?m?????f/, /?h??m???æf/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?h??m???æf/, /?ho?m???æf/
• ,

Noun

homograph (plural homographs)

1. A word that is spelled the same as another word, usually having a different etymology.
2. (computing) A text character or string that looks identical to another when rendered.

   Hyponym: homoglyph

Usage notes

Homographs are a kind of homonym in the loose sense of that term, i.e. a word that is either a homophone (same sound) or a homograph (same spelling). (The strict sense of homonym is a word that both sounds and is spelled the same as another word.) Specifically, homographs must have the same spelling, though they usually have different meanings and may be pronounced differently.

• The verb bear (“to carry”) and the noun bear (“large omnivorous mammal”) are homographs with the same pronunciation and different etymological origins.
• The verb alternate (“to go back and forth”) and the adjective alternate (“following by turns”) are homographs with different pronunciations but close etymological origins. Such homographs are also heteronyms.
• The verb meet (“to encounter”) and the noun meat (“food”) are not homographs since they have different spellings.

Related terms

• homeograph
• homographic
• homography

Translations

See also

• polyphone

Further reading

• homograph on Wikipedia.Wikipedia